Harry Reid threatens 'nuclear option' on filibuster

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says Democrats will take the unprecedented step of changing filibuster rules on a party-line vote if Republicans don’t agree to a bipartisan deal this week.

Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell met Tuesday on a proposal to pare back the use of the potent stalling tactic, but the Nevada Democrat then publicly threatened to change the filibuster rules with 51 votes, rather than 67 votes, if a deal can’t be reached soon, a tactic critics warn could fundamentally transform the Senate away from a body meant to protect minority party rights.

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FLASHBACK: McConnell, Reid attack each other on Senate floor

“I hope in the next 24 to 36 hours we can get something that we agree on,” Reid told reporters after lunching with Democratic senators. “If not, we will move forward on what I think needs to be done. My caucus will support me on that.”

There are 55 members of the Democratic Caucus, and younger senators in particular have pushed for action to water down the power of filibusters, which take 60 votes and days to overcome.

As part of any deal, McConnell wants to ensure he has a guaranteed number of amendments if Reid chooses to speed debate, GOP senators said Tuesday. Senators said Reid and McConnell were also weighing elements of an alternative plan led by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) that would guarantee Republicans at least two amendments while preventing them from filibustering in a handful of situations.

Reid is proposing a series of more modest changes that he believes would allow him to streamline the legislative process. He wants to eliminate filibusters used to prevent debate on legislation from starting. He also wants to end filibusters to prevent the Senate from entering talks with the House. And he’d like to pare back the use of filibusters on certain presidential nominations, particularly district court judicial nominees.

He’s also considering requiring 41 senators to vote to sustain a filibuster, a subtle shift from the current practice that requires 60 votes to break the stalling tactic. The proposed approach would shift the burden on the opposing party and force the opponents to ensure all their votes are present. Several Republican senators were cool on that idea on Tuesday.

Once a filibuster is defeated, the Senate immediately moves into 30 hours of debate, under current rules. Reid is now weighing whether to make senators actually hold the floor and speak for those 30 hours if they refuse to speed the debate.